Which top teams do you guys think are absolutely F*cked a few years down the road?I personally think the Pistons are. They don't really have any young kids that jump out at you, and god only knows how much longer they'll be able to keep their core of Tayshaun, Rip, Chauncey, and Sheed for. Unless they get some real nice steals in the next 1 or 2 drafts, they're going to be screwed a few years down the road when their core players are aging or leaving.
No, I really think that we are fine. Joe Dumars is a top 3 GM in the league, and hasn't made any stupid decisions outside of both Darko moves.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SunnyD @ Jan 23 2007, 08:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No, I really think that we are fine. Joe Dumars is a top 3 GM in the league, and hasn't made any stupid decisions outside of both Darko moves.</div>I agree that Dumars is a great GM, but I just think that with the current roster, sometime soon in the future he's going to need to pull some huge FA signings out of his ***hole if he wants that team to remain anywhere near as competitive as they've been the last few seasons.
The Pistons will almost always keep themselves competitive based alone on the fact that we have a responsible GM and a cooperative and competitive owner. The Pistons are very fiscally responsible. That alone is more than most NBA teams can say.
Golden State is. The addition of Jackson is going to really hurt them and they loose size and interior defense by having harrington on the block. The only bright spots for them are Bierdnes (sp), Ellis, and Baron.
I'm thinking the Bulls. They spent all that money getting Ben Wallace who is only getting older; I doubt they'll have enough money to resign all of their younger players.
Miami...they honestly don't have a very deep roster of younginsthey're mainly washed up old players like Shaq, Posey, Antoine, Zo, GPeven though some like Zo and GP are still playin nice...they'll be gone soonthey don't really have any young nice dudes except for D Wade and Udonis Haslembut I mean Wade is enough to build around so they probably arent "screwed" like the Pistons will be
Pistons are fine.We have 3 guys with high talent and potential who will hopefully pan out. Maxiell and Delfino already have proven they can put up some nice stats and have all around games in the pros. Amir Johnson is only 19 and has been getting 20/8/2/3 in the NBDL. Yeah, it's only the NBDL, but still that's very impressive for a guy just out of highschool. That's a PF, C, and SG right there. Tayshaun is only 26 and will be around for a while. Rip is 28, and should be effective for 4-5 more years. We also have 4 draft picks next year. We could draft some nice guys with all of them, or package them and get a stud in the 7-15 range.Like I said, I feel the Pistons will be fine down the road. Dumars won't let the franchise fall.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Jan 23 2007, 08:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Miami...they honestly don't have a very deep roster of younginsthey're mainly washed up old players like Shaq, Posey, Antoine, Zo, GPeven though some like Zo and GP are still playin nice...they'll be gone soonthey don't really have any young nice dudes except for D Wade and Udonis Haslembut I mean Wade is enough to build around so they probably arent "screwed" like the Pistons will be</div>He's shown flashes but I think you also have to consider Dwright as one of the young players that got skills.
Sacramento is possibily screwed too. Kevin Martin, Quincy Douby, and Francisco Garcia are the current bright spots on the squad, and they all play the abundent position of shooting guard. Bibby is in his prime, and Artest is obviously a problem. I just don't see them getting out of the cellar in the next few years.
I'd say the Timberwolves. They have superstar in Kevin Garnett that wants out, no sensible exact direction and stance from the orginazation. Are they rebuilding or are they just going to try reloading and build around KG? They certainly arent just one piece away from being a contender, but managment just cant get that threw thier heads. Rashad McCants and Randy Foye are thier latest draft picks, and should become a pretty decent backcourt in the future. I'm thinking of a poor man's Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton for them. That is the only bright spot on the team as of now for the future. Garnett is already in his 30's and wants traded, so I really dont consider him part of the future. The worst part of this for the Timberwolves is that they still are good enough to get an 8th seed. If they get it, it will pretty much be a wasted spot since they'll lose in the 1st round to the likes of a Dallas or Phoenix and wind up with a subpar draft choice. And lets face it, they arent going to get a franchise changing player with the 16th-20th pick. You have to get a 1-10 pick to get a great player in the draft. Most mid 1st round picks become nice role players like Tony Parker and Josh Howard, not Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Seattle doesn't look that bright either. They just picked a bust in my opinion with Sene. On top of that, they drafted a big with thier last 3 picks now with him, Swift, and Collison. doesn't make sense to me. I'm also suprised no one hasnt mentioned the Knicks. I guess it depends on how far down the line your looking. I think they'll be pretty bad for another 3-5 years since they'll still have those awful contracts of Rose, Marbury, etc. They do have a nice core though, although they dont have a standout. Lee, Robinson, Frye, and Balkman will never become go to players, but should make up a great supporting cast for some player in the future.
3-4 years down the lineNash is goneKurt Thomas is goneMarion traded for cap reasonsAmare with the possible knee surgeryBell is 33 and at the end of his contract or already done with it....We will need to have some good off-seasons starting at the end of this year. I do love Diaw, Barbosa and James Jones but we'll see how the team looks in the future.The Bulls situation sucks. They payed Wallace so much and I see him declining already. He's a short center that relies on athleticism and this is the age when it starts to fade. They also have some players on rookie contracts so they will lose out on some of their young talent soon. They need to win in the next 2 years and I just don't see it happening.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pjcolpitts? @ Jan 23 2007, 09:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'd say the Timberwolves. They have superstar in Kevin Garnett that wants out, no sensible exact direction and stance from the orginazation. Are they rebuilding or are they just going to try reloading and build around KG? They certainly arent just one piece away from being a contender, but managment just cant get that threw thier heads. Rashad McCants and Randy Foye are thier latest draft picks, and should become a pretty decent backcourt in the future. I'm thinking of a poor man's Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton for them. That is the only bright spot on the team as of now for the future. Garnett is already in his 30's and wants traded, so I really dont consider him part of the future. The worst part of this for the Timberwolves is that they still are good enough to get an 8th seed. If they get it, it will pretty much be a wasted spot since they'll lose in the 1st round to the likes of a Dallas or Phoenix and wind up with a subpar draft choice. And lets face it, they arent going to get a franchise changing player with the 16th-20th pick. You have to get a 1-10 pick to get a great player in the draft. Most mid 1st round picks become nice role players like Tony Parker and Josh Howard, not Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Seattle doesn't look that bright either. They just picked a bust in my opinion with Sene. On top of that, they drafted a big with thier last 3 picks now with him, Swift, and Collison. doesn't make sense to me. I'm also suprised no one hasnt mentioned the Knicks. I guess it depends on how far down the line your looking. I think they'll be pretty bad for another 3-5 years since they'll still have those awful contracts of Rose, Marbury, etc. They do have a nice core though, although they dont have a standout. Lee, Robinson, Frye, and Balkman will never become go to players, but should make up a great supporting cast for some player in the future.</div> Props for the great post here. McCants and Foye are a poor man's Billups and Rip, I have never thought of the backcourt that way, and it is pretty accurate.I have to agree with the three here. Don't forget the Frenchman Johan Petro in Seattle. If McCants can recover to 100 percent in 2008, then Minnesota will have a little hope. I'd hope they get some solid young big men and picks for Kevin Garnett.
Sixers look like they are gonna be screwed. They are trying to build a dynasty around Iggy and Miller but I dont think it may work. Whats nervewrecking for them is if they pick up another "Allen Iverson" type player in drafts to come, which is not want they want. They need a few good draft picks, and the current players need to step it up, if they want to be good in the future.
Sixers arent screwed..they have like 3 1st round draft picks this year including a probable top 5 (their own pick)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Sixers arent screwed..they have like 3 1st round draft picks this year including a probable top 5 (their own pick)</div>I agree. I don't think they can be screwed with 3 1st rd. draft picks in a deep draft like this one. They can also get a franchise player with their top 5 pick(if their record ends up that bad).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Iverson3 @ Jan 23 2007, 08:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Sixers look like they are gonna be screwed. They are trying to build a dynasty around Iggy and Miller but I dont think it may work. Whats nervewrecking for them is if they pick up another "Allen Iverson" type player in drafts to come, which is not want they want. They need a few good draft picks, and the current players need to step it up, if they want to be good in the future.</div>They're not trying to build around Iggy, and definitely not around Andre Miller because Miller will be gone after next season at the latest. They have to play around Iggy right now because he's the best player on our team at the moment, and he figures to be one of our three main players in the future.They'll likely land Durant or Oden this year (hopefully), and build around them... if not, they'll try to acquire a franchise player through the draft or free agency after 2008.
The Clippers will probably be in this boat, they always find a way to screw themselves hard. I do agree that the Pistons could find themselves in hot water in a few years. Dumars may be a good GM, and sometimes being a good GM means you have to have a few losing seasons. It wouldn't make sense to trade draft picks for a player who's going to keep you medicore. the key to those losing seasons is just not taking the wrong players in the draft, which is the reason why we see the same teams in the lottery year after year.another team which could be screwed down the road is Houston. T-mac is getting old, and Yao has suddenly become very injury prone. if he continues being injured a lot Houston could be in for some long seasons up ahead.
San Antonio anybody? They are old, and you can already see that Dallas, and possibly Phoenix, has passed them up. They seriously need to bring in some young blood onto that team (other than Parker), because unless they start doing it now they will seriously be screwed sooner rather than later.
Minnesota & Memphis. Sooner or later they are going to have to trade KG or he will finally have enough of it and demand a trade. Once that happens and KG leaves Minnesota neither the fans or players will have any reason to invest their time with the team. Cleveland and Miami are both unknowns to me. The main reason why I mention them is because both Wade and Lebron signed short term contracts to set themselves back up for free agency when the current CBA is set to expire currently setting them up for a massive pay day. While both of them are great pieces to build around in a few years everyone around Wade will be long gone and the cavs have yet to field a quality team around Lebron. Are either of them going to want to stick around if those issues aren't cleared up?
